15 Most Expensive Movies Ever Made

As a vital part of the entertainment industry, film-making is one of its oldest and highest grossing professions. From hiring a star studded cast to distributing the film in cinemas and Blu-ray, the budget of movies have seen a striking increase in recent years. Here we take a look at the 15 most expensive movies ever made:

15. The Lone Ranger ($225 Million)

Released by Disney and starring Johnny Depp, it is no surprise that his movies will have a high budget but there is a big blemish in the actor’s résumé: he has acted in too many critically panned movies and The Lone Ranger is one of them.

The western action film based on the radio show of the same name was a victim of bland script and an unnecessary lengthy story which made sure that The Lone Ranger under-performs commercially and critically.

Titled Man of Steel and directed by Zack Snyder, the superhero movie received a bigger budget than its predecessor and the expectations were naturally high only to receive mixed reviews. If anything, high budgeted movies do not necessarily mean that they will be any good.

13. The Dark Knight Rises ($230 Million)

Only a handful of sequels turn out to be better than the original yet The Dark Knight pulled it off due to the brilliance of director Christopher Nolan and the perfect casting of Heath Ledger. No thanks to Christian Bale’s portrayal of Batman and his hardly audible voice.

Winning two Academy Awards from eight nominations, another sequel was expected from Nolan but the director hesitated as he asked, “How many good third movies in a franchise can people name?” and subsequently worked on Inception.

Eventually, the acclaimed director began working on the third and final installment of The Dark Knight Trilogy what turned out to be the weakest entry. As a matter of fact, the bland Batman flick did not even receive any Oscar nominations as well.

12. Avatar ($237 Million)

The epic science fiction film not only grossed the $2 billion mark but stands out as the highest grossing movie today. Directed by James Cameron, Avatar revolutionized the art of visual effects and continues to impress anyone who watches it.

Winning three Academy Awards from nine nominations, it is no surprise that Avatar pops up in the list of most expensive movies ever made and one can only imagine the budget of its sequel set to be released in 2020.

11. Spectre ($245 Million)

Did you know? James Bond is the third highest grossing movie franchise. Though with 26 movies under your belt, you are bound to have such an accomplishment. Daniel Craig reprised his role of the fictional British secret agent for the third time in Spectre and this time, the movie was the highest budgeted James Bond flick.

Winning one Academy Award but receiving polarizing reviews, James Bond is one franchise that is too stubborn to die due to the immense love from its fan base as evident from the fact that a sequel is under serious discussion. Regarding his reprisal of the iconic spy, Craig stated,

“As far as I’m concerned, I’ve got the best job in the world. I’ll keep doing it as long as I still get a kick out of it. If I were to stop doing it, I would miss it terribly.”

9. Captain America: Civil War ($250 Million)

The war between Marvel and DC seem to never end and same was the case this year. Both had an equal budget of $250 million to release their arguably finest film in recent memory and the result was rather unexpected.

The showdown of Batman and Superman was not even close to the impressive battle among Team Captain America and Team Iron Man. Above all, Marvel Cinematic Universe reigned supreme over DC Extended Universe this year.

8. The Hobbit: The Battle of the Five Armies ($250 Million)

Leave it up to Warner Bros. for making the children’s fantasy novel into a three-part franchise. With all honesty, The Lord of the Rings franchise left the fans wanting for more and with Peter Jackson back in the director’s seat, everyone was looking forward to The Hobbit.

High budgeted movies earning even more money, it made sense that the third and final installment of the prequel series has the highest budget of all to the point of becoming the most expensive movie of its year.